Terminator Humanity
by Largo
Summary: Skynet has had a problem for a while now. One that is not John Connor. A remote area of China is proving a deathzone for Terminators. It sends some T800's in to discover why its machines are being destroyed. Now, one unlucky 101 is about learn everything
1. Chapter 1

**Terminator – Humanity**

**Prologue - or - She did WHAT?**

_"If a machine, a terminator can learn the value of human life...maybe we can as well." – Sarah Connor._

Before any complaints – Shampoo is speaking in her native tongue so no broken speech.

Okay...I'm not sure what I was on when this idea slipped into my head. I think it was all the Avatar and James Cameron stuff that's been flying around recently that set it off. As my other stuff is stalled in rewrite hell, I'm putting this fic up. I'm pretty certain I know where it ends (for once I have a goal), it won't be massively long or epic but if it all goes well, you'll never watch T2 the same way again :P

Set a few years after Terminator Salvation.

x X x

Bayankala range, Qinghai Province, China, 2025

The sun shone brightly down on the grassy plains, one of the few places that remained untouched by the nuclear fallout known as Judgment Day. On these plains, a herd of wild kyangs milled around, either heads down and feeding or eyes staring inquisitively out over the plains for anything unusual.

A distance high-pitched whine disturbed the quiet afternoon, one that rapidly grew louder. Ears flicked towards the sound and heads rose. The noise grew louder still and almost as one the herd scattered, darting away as the aerial HK shot past overhead with the whine of powerful turbines.

The HK flew low over the plains as it homed in on its target destination, where it would drop off its cargo. Four of Skynet's newest T800 infiltration and termination units sat in the cramped confines of the HK's small hold, all staring blankly ahead, silently waiting for when they reached the drop-zone. Each terminator was a different model, a 056, a 098, a 099 and finally a model 101.

Despite Skynet's successful attempts at shrinking the endoskeleton chassis of the latest T-series, the four infiltration units were all large, heavyset white Caucasian males. Different features, hair and eye colours did little to set them apart when they all were the same size and build, nor did the identical blank expressions, or the identical Chinese military uniforms help to distinguish them from one another.

If these terminators' chips were unlocked and they had a moment to contemplate their mission, they might have wondered how they would successfully blend into a possible rebel base filled with Chinese soldiers. However, their chips were read-only, and so they sat and waited for when they would carry out their orders.

The aerial HK rose gracefully into the sky as it approached the rocky mountain range, still keeping the high speed and avoiding obstacles with inhuman precision. It passed over the range and slowed as the first drop-zone came into visual range. As the HK passed over a small valley of pools, its sensors blipped out for a moment at the magnetic distortion in the area. For a moment, it had been flying blind. If it had been human it may have panicked at the sudden loss of sensory input, but it had passed by the interference within seconds and all systems came back online.

The HK recorded the minor malfunction in its systems for a systems check once it returned to base even as its turbines rotated towards the front to break. Soon it came to a halt and hovered over a clear patch of land. It lowered itself closer to the ground sending dirt and loose grass flying from the downwards thrust it was using. Its cargo bay door opened and the 101 smoothly rose and dropped the eight feet to land heavily on the ground in a crouch, its booted feet sinking slightly into the ground from its weight.

The terminator smoothly came out of the crouch and stood up straight as above it, the cargo door closed back up and the HK's turbines increased in power to lift it back into the sky. The terminator paid no attention to the powerful winds that whipped around it as the HK departed, heading off to the next drop-zone.

The terminator slowly scanned the area from left to right and then back once more, only its eyes and head moving. It paused for a second to decide the most efficient way to complete its mission. It decided to head straight towards the coordinates that the previous drones and T600's had reported before being terminated by some unknown force.

Skynet was baffled by this area's ability to seemingly destroy any terminator it had sent in so far. Satellite images showed a village just a few miles north of the terminator's current location, a village that had definite signs of human life, but no signs of any technology sufficient to destroy terminators. All images sent back from the previous incursions had shown empty huts and no sign of any inhabitants and then without warning the unit's sent in were attacked and destroyed one-by-one with great efficiency.

The terminator knew this; it was currently reviewing the footage even as it set off at a brisk walk. Skynet, like any intelligent being wanted to know whom or what it was up against, and if possible how to defeat them, which was why the four fully fleshed out T800's were heading in at this moment.

The terminator slowed for a moment to read the faded signpost it was passing. "Welcome to Jusenkyo" the sign stated in Chinese, Japanese, English and even Russian script. It stored the word Jusenkyo in its memory banks. It might clue Skynet in on what was happening in the area.

It did not take the terminator long to see the first signs of human activity. It passed fenced and carefully ploughed fields, but no signs of humans. A large ox wearing a straw hat and a plough still attached to it watched the terminator pass by with curiosity.

The terminator noted and immediately discarded the various other animals scurrying about the fields. It was a suspicious large variety of creatures, cats, dogs, various fowl, but no humans. Therefore, it ignored them, even though they watched its passing with a keen intelligence in their eyes.

The sight of various terminator remains strung up over poles almost as if they were trophies made the terminator pause and study the sight. Lifeless metal skulls of T600's decorated the poles, like heads on pikes. It was a warning the terminator decided. Curious. It approached the nearest and stood before what would have been a grisly sight if not for the body parts all being metal.

The terminator studied the remains, seeking for the cause of termination. It reached out, picked one of the skulls up, and turned it around in its hands. The skull was remarkably undamaged aside from the neck, which had appeared to be shattered from the inside somehow. The terminator dropped the skull uncaringly and leaned closer to study the remains of a chest section. It too seemed to look as if a bomb had gone off inside the chassis, however it could not detect any signs of burnt materials.

Finally, the terminator's eyes fell upon the sign in Chinese, resting on the ground. "Metal skeletons will never defeat the Amazons!"

Amazons. The word was quickly isolated. The Amazons (Greek: μαζόνες, Amazónes, singular μαζών, Amazōn) are a nation of all-female warriors in Classical and Greek mythology. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia (modern territory of Ukraine). Other historiographers place them in Asia Minor or Libya.

The terminator straightened up, stared towards the village, and sought out any signs of humans, especially female ones. It saw nothing but the buildings in the distance of the village. Being a machine, the terminator did not feel concern; however, the warning signs told it to be alert. It reached for the phased plasma rifle with a 40 watt range that it carrier over one shoulder and armed the gun.

The weapon hummed faintly as the terminator held it in one hand and set off once more towards the village, eyes scanning the area constantly like a security camera, for signs of moment or life. The terminator saw nothing as it paused before the first hut and checked around for traps. After a moment, it raised its free hand and knocked on the wooden door.

There was no answer. It knocked again. Again, there was no answer.

"Hello." The terminator called out simply and with no inflection in its voice.

When it got no answer, the terminator pushed the door and it swung open smoothly on well-oiled hinges. The terminator noted the maintenance of the door as it stepped into the hut and looked around the simple dwelling. The hut looked lived in. It was clean and mostly neat and tidy. A large kettle hung over a simple fireplace and steamed away to its self. That signified someone lived here and had only just left or was hiding.

The terminator readied its weapon as it walked further inside. It checked under the table, looked into the cupboards and opened the doors to a stocked pantry. All the signs told it there was someone here, but so far, they were doing a fantastic job of hiding from the terminator.

A bump from the back room made the terminator whip around to aim towards the sound. It stealthily approached the door to the far room as only a large cyborg could. The terminator waited a second before bursting into the room and aiming around, seeking the source of the bump. A weasel shot out from under the bed and raced out between the terminator's legs. The terminator tracked the animal with the gun for a moment before relaxing its aim and forgetting about the animal. It then went about searching the room for a human or a possible hidden area. It found nothing. Soon it left the hut and began to search each of the other buildings in the village one by one.

As the minutes stretched towards an hour, the terminator moved from building to building searching them from top to bottom and finding nothing but a few animals. The terminator paused when it arrived in the centre of the village, a large area that looked almost like an arena. It scanned around the area as it tried to decide which building to search next. Its eyes rested on one of the larger buildings. The structure was slightly fancier than the other normal stone and wood dwellings.

The terminator approached the building and pushed the door open, not bothering to knock anymore. Inside was like the outside, a larger better layout than the other homes. The shutters at the windows were open and let plenty of light in. The terminator went through the rooms one by one carefully searching. Like the other buildings it found plenty of signs of recent activity, food left half prepared in the kitchen. A kettle had recently been boiled and a bowl of hot water sat on the floor, steam drifting lazily from it.

The terminator was the closest it was going to get to being frustrated. All the signs showed humans living here, ready for termination and yet it could not find them to fulfil its mission parameters. The village was a ghost town.

It reached for the handle of the final room it had to check.

"Meow?"

The terminator instantly rounded on the cat that had snuck up behind the killer cyborg. The cat was pink and had little bells in its fur. It looked up at the terminator curiously and seemed braced, ready to move out of the way quickly.

The terminator relaxed its finger off the trigger and smoothly returned to weapon to a ready position already deciding to ignore the household animal. The cat meowed questionably once more as the terminator turned back to the door. Getting no answer from the large cyborg the cat padded over and lightly clawed at the terminator's closest calf, its claws catching in the tough material of the terminators pant legs.

The terminator turned its empty stare back down at the small animal. They studied each other for a moment before the cyborg broke the silence.

"Don't. Do that." It warned.

The cat cocked its head and studied the flesh-covered machine as if it understood it. That was the moment that all hell broke loose. The door opened startling the cat and causing the terminator to spin instantly towards the opening.

"Hey mom! Is it safe...to...come..." a red-haired girl of around sixteen, wearing a short, white, and tight fitting Chinese dress with little red bows poked her head out and addressed the cat. Her hair was styled in two buns. She trailed off at seeing the large man in the room. "Who are you?" she pointed warily.

"Meooow!" the cat wowled a warning as the cyborg took aim.

"Oh fudge!" the girl stated springing into motion and kicked upwards, catching the gun pointed at her and forcing it up as she raised her leg vertically. The force of the blow was strong, but not enough to make the terminator lose its grip, however it did cause it pull the trigger from reflex. A bolt of plasma discharged from the barrel and punched a hole through the roof sending plaster scattering everywhere.

The girl continued to move, coming out of the kick and spinning her leg back down to give herself more momentum. She spun around and kicked the terminator in the jaw. The machine's head was knocked back but it did not fall.

"Ow..." the girl stated lowering her foot in surprise at how hard the man's jaw was. The terminator turned slowly back toward her, completely unaffected by the blow. "Whoa!" the girl flung herself into a backwards somersault as the cyborg tried to decapitate her with the butt of the plasma rifle.

The cat sprinted and leapt towards the still hot bowl of water as this was going on.

The girl rolled to her feet as the terminator took aim again and fired.

"Yikes!" the redhead leapt over the blast, doing the splits in midair. The wall behind her gained a large round hole. She barely had landed when another blast followed. She shrieked and began dodging rapid plasma fire in panic. She had to twist and contort in ways that surprised the terminator, as its incredibly accurate targeting systems failed to calculate her moves accurately enough to hit her.

Just as it aligned with the girl's head, something large and heavy slammed into its own. The terminator flew to the side, crashed through the kitchen wall as if the wall were plywood, and landed on its back outside.

"You are in *big* trouble young lady!" Shampoo snapped as she roughly pulled a dress over her head that she had retrieved with the hidden weapons technique.

"Soooorrrry!" the girl whined. "It was so quiet I thought I could come out."

Outside, the terminator turned its head to see what had hit it with enough force to send it smashing though a wall. A large metal and now slightly dented Shuang Chui lay on the ground near its head. The terminator straightened and slowly sat up. From where it sat, it could see inside the house and saw that another human female had joined the girl, it roughly calculated the elder one's age to be late forties to early fifties. Neither should have been capable of throwing such a weapon with such force. There had to another human operating some type of catapult to throw such weapons.

As the terminator sat up, it checked the area for its weapon. It saw the plasma rifle had fallen out of its hands inside the building. The nearest weapon was one of the Shuang Chui. It picked the heavy mace-like weapon up and climbed back to its feet. A Shuang Chui user does not have any fancy moves; the weapons use just comes down to old-fashioned brute forced and beating your opponent to a bloody pulp, which suited a terminator perfectly.

The two females seemed to be arguing and ignoring it. The terminator moved in for the kill.

"If your father was still alive he'd be so ashamed right now Ranko!" Shampoo said heatedly. "I said wait till we give the all clear! What about that order is hard to understand?"

"Eh?" Ranko stared in surprise, before her face hardened. "Oooh! Right! Whenever I make a mistake it's always this!" She folded her arms and sniffed turning away angrily.

"Aiya! Ranko! Your father was the slayer of Saffron! You should-"

"So what!? My old man killed some mouldy phoenix. Doesn't mean *I* have to be some sort of ultimate warrior!"

"Aiyaa! Look out!" Shampoo suddenly realised the outsider had snuck up on them when the shadow of the large man fell over the pair. As proficient martial artists and proud Amazon warriors, they all had learned to develop an almost sixth sense of when someone wanted to attack you. A person gave off an almost undetectable intent to kill or hurt when they attacked and the best warriors could sense that even before their attacker had committed themselves to the attack and avoid it. A machine gave off no such feelings, even a machine design only to kill, and that was how Ranko barely had any warning to avoid the blow to the head from the terminator. It sent the girl flying across the room to land in an unconscious pile in the corner.

"Ranko!" Shampoo shouted and spun towards the cyborg. "You'll pay for that." She stated pulling her second Shuang Chui out as the terminator swung the first towards her head. The two weapons collided with bone rattling force and both stopped as machine strained against Amazon.

"Aiya! You are strong for an outsider male." Shampoo remarked as they separated. The terminator did not reply and just swung at Shampoo again with her own weapon. The Amazon casually sidestepped the attack and slammed her Shuang Chui into the terminator's head. The machine stumbled to the side before catching its balance and smoothly righted itself. It took another attempt to hit the female, which she deflected with a clang as the weapons collided once more.

The terminator took a single step back to gain a moment to decide how to defeat this impossibly strong human. It quickly targeted its dropped plasma rifle. It feinted an attack, to which Shampoo moved to avoid, and then the cyborg took the opportunity to move towards the weapon. They began to circle each other, each occasionally testing the other's defences.

'Who is this male?' Shampoo thought as they exchanged another blow that could shatter bones like twigs. 'The way he shrugs off my blows...It's like fighting lost boy.'

As they circled, the terminator blocked out the light from the window. With its head blocking the light, Shampoo saw the faint red glow behind its pupils and she realised what she was fighting, much to her surprise.

"You're one of those metal skeletons." She stated knowing know why the male seemed to not feel her attacks. She smirked. If that was the case, she could end the fight anytime she wanted. It did surprise her though just how human this one appeared. It seemed whoever kept sending the metal creatures at them, they were learning to make better disguises.

The terminator suddenly threw the Shuang Chui at Shampoo's head. The Amazon reacted instantly, dodged the weapon and as it passed by caught the handle. She spun to lessen the force of grabbing such a heavy weapon out of the air. The terminator meanwhile picked up its gun and aimed only to have both of Shampoo's weapons slam into the gun crushing it instantly as the Shuang Chui clapped together from either side.

For a second the cyborg stared, almost surprised by this last event, before Shampoo reared back and did a one, two combination. One blow hit its midsection with enough force to bend the terminator double, before the second slammed into its heavily armoured chest area. The terminator smashed through a second wall for the second time that day. It hit the ground hard and slid on its back into the village centre where it came to a grinding halt.

Shampoo jumped after the cyborg through the hole and stalked towards the machine as it once more began to sit up.

"Mousse! Restrain it!" Shampoo called out as the terminator got to its feet.

A thick heavy chain with a weight on the end wrapped around the cyborg's torso and pinned its arms to its sides, restraining it. The terminator paused at the new event and turned to look in the direction the attack had come from. Behind it a large crowd of Amazon's had appeared from seemingly nowhere. The one holding the chain, a male with thick glasses stared at it calmly.

The terminator returned its gaze towards Shampoo as it quickly realised its situation was looking grim. It attempted to break the chains holding it, but found them strong enough that it could do little more than make them creak. As a last ditch effort, the machine took a step forward, dragging its captor with it as it moved towards Shampoo.

"You're not going anywhere." Mousse stated and quickly threw the chain up and over a post. He heaved back and was joined by another two Amazon's who helped drag the terminator back and lift it into the air by a foot. They tied the chain off as Mousse quickly used a second chain to restrain the cyborg's legs from kicking out.

The Amazon's gathered around as Shampoo walked right up to the restrained killing machine. The terminator just stared back, knowing it was helpless for the moment.

"You!" Shampoo pointed to the nearest Amazon. "Check up on my daughter while I deal with this...thing."

"Yes Matriarch." The Amazon rushed off inside Shampoo's home to make sure the girl was okay.

"You metal creatures keep invading our lands and trying to kill my people." Shampoo glared. "You dare hurt my daughter and try to attack myself. You will pay."

The terminator remained silent.

"You can talk. Yes?"

"Yes." The terminator confirmed. It saw no benefit to remaining silent and perhaps it could discover what these people were before they terminated it. As Skynet was receiving everything that happened to it, at least the terminator's inevitable end might have some use, it reasoned. There was always a slim chance it could get free as well.

"The others couldn't. Or wouldn't."

"They were an obsolete model." The terminator stated.

"Then you'll answer my questions." Shampoo folded her arms. "Why do you keep invading our lands?"

"By Skynet's decree, all humans are to be terminated or captured. My mission is to terminate any human life in this village."

"Who is Skynet?"

"Skynet is the computer network that controls this planet."

"The one that dropped the bombs." Mousse surmised. They Amazon's were isolated, but they still knew of the nuclear war.

"Correct." The terminator confirmed. A murmur went through the gathered Amazon's.

"Then you'll take a message to Skynet." Shampoo demanded causing the villagers to go quiet again.

"Skynet knows of everything that occurs to myself." The terminator stated.

"Useful. That means we can kill you afterwards." Shampoo looked up at the cyborg and stared it in the eyes. "We Amazon's have over three thousand years of history. We will not lose in a fight. Leave us alone or you become an obstacle. And obstacles are for killing."

"Skynet's philosophies are similar." The terminator replied.

"Then we understand one another. Good bye metal man." Shampoo sneered. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" she jabbed her finger into the terminator's chest.

The crowd all blinked as one as nothing happened. Shampoo also blinked in surprise.

"Bakusai Tenketsu!" she tried again with the same results. "What? You're metal? Why don't you break?"

If the terminator understood humour, it might have replied with a joke about being a strange piñata. It did not, so it remained silent.

"The other metal skeletons exploded. Why don't you?" Shampoo demanded. "What is the difference?"

The terminator did not know exactly what the human meant, but answered with a guess as to what the human wanted to hear.

"The T600's have rubber based skin. I am a cyborg. Living tissue over metal endoskeleton."

Shampoo blinked for a moment before slapping the base of her palm to her forehead. "Doh! Breaking point only works on inanimate materials. Guess we do this the old-fashioned way. We cut your head off." She withdrew a sword from somewhere and held it towards the strung up machine.

"My head hurts." Ranko stated as she approached her mother with wobbly steps and the help of the Amazon sent to check up on her. She rubbed the back of her head. "Mother, what's going on?" she asked seeing the stranger strung up.

"We're about kill this one for trespassing into Amazon lands." Shampoo stated. "You *will* be getting extra training after this embarrassment. Allowing yourself to be beaten by this thing."

Ranko winched at her mother's tone of voice and knew she was in for some hellish training soon for her latest mess up. The girl suddenly blinked a few times as she slowed down at rubbing the aching spot on her head. 'Wait-a-minute!'

The terminator merely stared at the girl and tried to figure out at how she was still alive after taking such a hard blow to the head. A human skull could not survive such force.

Ranko suddenly sprang at the strung up terminator and wrapped her arms and legs around it. She reared her head back.

"Wo Ai Ni!" and proceed to give the kiss of marriage, tongue and all.

The terminator did not understand what was going on and remained silent as it stared at Ranko's eyes.

'Oh by the Goddess!' she thought, mistaking the look for adoration. 'This is really it! Love at first fight!'

Shampoo's fingers went numb as the sword clattered to the floor. Her dress drooped off one shoulder and she stared in wide-eyed surprise as Ranko did the unspeakable. A full, kiss of marriage, and in front of the entire village yet! Amazon laws were a bizarre and incomprehensible set of rules to outsiders and most would say that it would not matter because it was a machine she was marrying. Nevertheless, it was Amazon Law; once the kiss was done, it was permanent.

Silence reigned supreme. That was until Mousse's chuckles started. Soon he could not hold it back and burst into full-blown laughter, tears streaming down his face and everything. To see this. This was the funniest thing he had ever imagined could have happen to the spawn of Saotome.

"%##***" Shampoo stated.

x X x

Did I really just write that? O.o


	2. Chapter 2

**Terminator – Humanity**

**Chapter 1 – A journey Begins**

Shampoo, the current leader of the proud Chinese Amazon warriors sat on a simple wooden chair in the middle of her wrecked kitchen, leaned her elbows against the kitchen table, and rubbed her temples in an attempt to soften the stress headache she had. An evening breeze caressed her purple and only just beginning to grey hair. She turned to face the breeze, forgetting for a moment why she could feel one inside. The large terminator shaped hole in her kitchen wall reminded her and she pulled a sour face.

"Stupid metal man! Stupid girl!" Shampoo sighed and reached once more for the clay bottle of baijiu. She poured herself another shot and slammed it back, not even caring to warm it. She grimaced at the alcoholic warmth that hit the back of her throat. "Bah! Stupid laws." She snorted as she eyed the empty shot glass suspiciously and counted how many she had drank so far. Still on one hand and she was still sober. Not good.

"I think you've have enough." A welcome and familiar male voice said as old gnarled fingers gently prised the glass away from her.

"Father." Shampoo greeted the now wizened old man.

"Hello my beautiful and strong daughter." He replied taking the bottle away as well.

"You'll have heard the news." Shampoo pouted as she rested her chin against one palm and stared unseeingly out through the hole in the kitchen wall.

"Indeed. I have a Grandson-in-law now." The old man smiled in amusement as he placed the drink back in the cupboards unaffected by the recent battle. He picked up a broom and began to slowly sweep the rubble and dust up.

"Bah!" Shampoo slammed a fist onto the tabletop. "She is too young! She's too eager! And she's too damned stubborn to back down! What am I going to do with her and...*it*?" Shampoo pulled a look of disgust.

"Hmm, that reminds me of someone..." Shampoo's father stated. He mimed zipping his mouth when Shampoo turned her glare his way. "Anyway, why ask this old man? You are our leader."

"Advice. I don't know what to do...," she admitted quietly. "It is not alive. It is a thing of death. It will try to kill us all if it gets even one moment to try. And because of Ranko, it is now an Amazon...by law. I wish Great-Grandmother were still here. She'd know what to do."

"Well...I'm no Cologne, but you are our leader. You *do* have final say in matters concerning the village's wellbeing." The old man advised.

"I know that." Shampoo stated. She glanced in the direction of Ranko's room. "I...I don't wish to hurt her..."

"Anymore." she quietly added, regretful of past deeds.

"Hmm." Her father pondered something for a moment. "Are you certain it is untameable?"

"Can you tame a cart? A car? A plane?" Shampoo snorted.

"One might answer yes to that question. Depending how you think about it." Her father answered.

"But it is just a machine. A lifeless, unfeeling lump of metal, no matter what it looks like."

"Is it? Lifeless, I mean. Did the breaking point not work against it? There must a little something there."

"You are seriously suggesting we attempt to tame it?" Shampoo stared at her father and wondered when the old man had gone senile.

"That is for only you to decide. Maybe it can learn or if not, maybe it can be changed. But we both know this is not really about it, is it?"

"Ranko." Shampoo sighed.

"Yes. If her heart is truly set on this, surely she of all people deserves some happiness."

"If it can't learn. It dies." Shampoo stated firmly.

"That is your decision." Her father put the broom away. He walked over to Shampoo and gave her a comforting hug. "I'll come back in the morning to oversee the repairs. Good night daughter."

Shampoo watched her father leave by the door, even though he could have walked out through the hole beside it. She rested her knuckles to her mouth, deep in thought. All the ways this could end in destruction ran through her head. The more she thought about it, the more it became a bad idea, but one thing made her pause. Ranko smiling and happy.

""Ranma...I is going to regret this..." Shampoo stated in Japanese. Without turning, she switched back to her native tongue. "Mousse."

"Yes my Shampoo." Mousse stepped into the light from where he had stood outside keeping watch on her. He held his arms folded and hidden in his long sleeves as he addressed the potted plant beside the hole. He still often left his glasses resting on his forehead instead of just using them.

Shampoo rolled her eyes, but gave a faint smile. Mousse may never have her heart, but he remained a familiar constant in her rollercoaster of a life. He was predictable, unlike certain fiery daughters.

"I have a quick task for you."

x X x

After much shouting back and forth between the girl known as Ranko and her apparent mother, the terminator had found itself dragged off to an underground cell. This was where the cyborg currently hung. Chained to the ceiling by a heavy chain that wrapped around its arms from the wrist down its large biceps, restraining the machine and preventing it from leveraging any of its inhuman physical strength. The terminator's ankles were similarly chained and fastened to a heavy metal ring set in the floor of the cell.

The cyborg had checked its bonds for weaknesses as soon as the Amazon's had left it alone. It had to respect how well it had been restrained, there appeared to be no way to escape the chains strong enough to hold it. It had looked around the cell and found nothing to aid its escape. Therefore, the terminator just waited in the cool, dark cell and stared at the cell door.

The seconds ticked by on its internal chronometer, counting up to the hours it had been left in the cell. It did not feel bored or scared to be restrained and merely waited. Biding its time until the humans made a mistake and it could get free to finish the mission. That was all that mattered.

The cyborg pulled up the map on the tunnels down to the cell and analyzed the route it would take to get out once free. On the way down, the terminator had seen more Amazon's in the tunnels underneath the village. The tunnels seemed to run underneath the buildings and almost a second village was hidden in them. Even if it could not escape, the information it was gathering would be of use to Skynet.

A clank of a heavy lock being opened drew the terminator's attention, followed by the sound of a heavy door moving and then footsteps coming down the stone steps towards its cell. The terminator waited.

The lock in its cell door clicked and the door swung open inwards. The Amazon leader, the one known to it as Shampoo stepped inside, her face looked full of thunder as she glared at the offending machine. She carried an oil lamp that she held up towards the terminator's face. It stared back, unbothered by the sudden brightness or the heat from the closeness of the lamp.

The terminator turned its gaze to the person behind her. It was the male human that used the chains that restrained it currently. Mousse followed Shampoo in and placed a small wooden bucket filled with water and a ladle resting inside it, carefully on the floor.

"Wait outside Mousse. I want to talk with it alone...for now."

"But Shamp-"

"I am not some weakling who needs your protection. Wait outside." Shampoo told him sternly.

"Yes Shampoo." Mousse accepted defeat with a bow. Before leaving, he sent a warning glare towards the captured machine. Once Mousse had closed the cell door, Shampoo attached the oil lamp to a hanging hook. She walked up to the terminator and then moved around the cyborg, inspecting it. The terminator followed her with its eyes until she moved behind it. It quickly moved its head to the other side to watch as she rounded back to face it face-to-face.

"Do you understand what occurred back there?" Shampoo asked finally.

"Negative." The terminator answered truthfully. "It is not in my mission parameters to understand humans."

"Then I'll explain our laws regarding what happened. If an outsider male defeats an Amazon in battle, she must claim that male as her husband. The kiss of marriage is given and the outsider is then considered her husband. Congratulations. By over three thousand years of proud Amazon tradition, you just became married to my daughter."

The terminator digested that information and remained silent. Uncaring.

"Well? What do you say to that?" Shampoo questioned and leaned closer.

"Human traditions have no bearings on my mission parameters. I will terminate all human life in this village." The cyborg told her simply.

"We'll see." Shampoo replied. "You'll soon learn Amazon law comes before all."

"That is impossible." The terminator stated.

"Stronger than you have learnt this lesson." Shampoo snorted.

"Perhaps. But that does not change the fact my CPU was set to read-only before leaving on this mission. You cannot alter my mission parameters."

"Cee...pee...you?" Shampoo rolled the syllables over her tongue.

"My mind." The cyborg clarified, seeing as the human did not understand. She looked sideways at the hanging machine.

"So you can learn. We can change your mind."

"The more contact I have with humans the more I learn. However, information received from Skynet's previous incarnations suggests that John Connor is capable of reprogramming our mission parameters. To prevent this from reoccurring, Skynet has fitted anti-tamper devices to all new T800 series. Any attempt to access my CPU will result in termination of said component, rendering it useless."

"I see." Shampoo muttered, even though she had pretty much no idea what the machine was actually telling her. The name John Connor stood out and she decided to find out more about this person later on. 'Well, time to test my theory.' She thought as she carefully picked up the bucket of water, making extra care to avoid spilling any on herself.

"I guess this is time to release you." Shampoo remarked casually as she moved over to the lever that would release the chains. The terminator followed her with its eyes, confused by what the human was doing.

"Releasing me will allow me to complete my mission." The terminator stated.

"Wrong." Shampoo smirked pulling on the lever. The chains instantly went slack and the cyborg dropped to land on its feet. The terminator wasted no time and was instantly removing the chains from its wrists. Once its hands were free, it bent over to pull the chains off its ankles. Then it straightened up and turned to send an under eyebrow stare towards Shampoo. Any normal person might have felt concern at facing such a killing machine, but Shampoo was an Amazon; and she had a plan anyway.

The terminator took a step towards the smirking Amazon, intending to crush her throat quickly with its hands when she whipped a ladle-full of water into its face. For a moment, the world went dark as all its senses vanished. It stumbled as it lost its balance. The terminator blinked its eyes. Everything looked strange suddenly. A warm yellow and flickering light now lit the entire cell instead of its normal infrared vision.

The tracking software the terminator relied on to constantly scan its surroundings and inform it of what the shapes were was absent. Confusion hit it like a tidal wave as strange sensations hammered its mind. A rushing noise was in its ears. A sense of thudding in its chest. Its limbs felt sluggish, as did its mind. White spots began flashing before its eyes and the terminator wobbled almost drunkenly on useless legs. For the first time in its short existence, panic hit it even though it did not understand what it was feeling.

"You should breathe. You're turning blue." Shampoo stated calmly before the suddenly human machine. It turned towards the fading voice and made a final lurching attempt to complete its mission. It collapsed face first onto the cell floor, its reaching fingers missing Shampoo by miles. As consciousness faded, it felt a rush of air enter its chest as its body automatically began breathing now the mind had shut down.

"Hmm?" Shampoo pondered as she crouched down to check up on the former machine. She found a strong pulse when she checked. "Well, what do you know. Jusenkyo even works on your kind."

Shampoo draped one of the terminator's thick arms over her shoulder and picked him up so she could carry him out. "Well, things will certainly be interesting when you wake up. Son-in-law."

x X x

Ranko sat alone in her room before her vanity dresser and violently dragged a comb through her loose hair. She was upset. Boy was she upset. She had finally met her destined one and her mother or all people, denied her claim!

How could her mother! All the stories she had told her as she grew up about her mother's own exploits in capturing the heart of her husband the *exact* same way. Well, not exactly the same but it was close enough for Ranko.

"That hypocritical old bat!" Ranko snarled. "Well, I'll show her."

Ranko took a deep calming breath. She had to be cunning about this. Her mother was not the Matriarch for no reason. If she wanted to rescue her husband before her mother had him executed, she would have to clever. Cunning. Beyond sneaky. A paragon of stealth!

"Yes! I will rescue him! And then we'll run away together!" Ranko exclaimed loudly with her hairbrush held high in the air.

Bang. Bang. Bang

"Ranko dear, I think everybody in the village just heard about your plan. Go to bed!" her grandfather's voice called up from the room below after he banged on the ceiling with a broom.

"Sorry!" she called down with a wince. "Bugger...there goes the element of surprise..."

"Yes. That is something we'll have to work on tomorrow." Shampoo's voice stated drily from the open door that Ranko had completely missed being opened.

"Mother!" Ranko yelped and spun to face her mother. "I would like to say that I in no way, shape, or form intend to break my beloved from his cell and run away. Nuh huh."

"That's good." Shampoo nodded dragging in the aforementioned unconscious person. "You can help me with this oaf."

"Eh?" Ranko blinked in surprise. It took her a few moments to get her brain moving again after being derailed. "Husband!" Ranko cried out at the sight of him being unconscious. She rushed over. "What did you do to him?"

"I tortured and terrified him until he tried to hold his breath to kill himself." Shampoo stated as she continued to drag the heavy male.

"You...you did?" Ranko looked horrified.

"Of course not!" Shampoo rolled her eyes at Ranko's gullibleness. "Get his feet and help me dump him on your bed."

Ranko quickly complied and picked up his feet. They manoeuvred him onto the bed, where Shampoo dropped him roughly and then clapped her hands together to remove the imaginary dust.

"There. That's over with now." She muttered darkly. She saw Ranko staring at the cursed terminator in adoration and winced. 'Did I ever look that stupid?' she wondered, knowing all too well she had at times. 'Oh how love can bring even the greatest Amazon down to the level of a...airhead...' she mentally sighed.

Ranko finally tore her eyes from the male on the bed and turned to her mother.

"Why did you change your mind?" the redhead asked softly.

"He has *one* chance. If he so much as looks at someone...you...as if he wants to kill them, I *will* destroy him. Understand?" Shampoo said, choosing to remain impassive.

"He won't." Ranko stated, firmly believing it.

"You're right." Shampoo turned away and headed towards the door. "He won't get chance to."

"Mother!" Ranko called out just before Shampoo stepped into the hall beyond.

"Yes?"

"Did he tell you his name? What do I call him?"

Shampoo pondered the question for a moment. "Bob Ceepeeyou." She replied.

"Eh? Really?"

"What? He looks like a Bob to me." Shampoo stated. "Oh, and Ranko. Get plenty of sleep. Your training will step up tomorrow. Goodnight." She called as she closed the door. Her tone suggested that plenty of pain was on the way.

x X x

The terminator found itself slowly coming back online. A strange and slow sensation of his mind waking up. Slowly different parts began to activate and send information to him. His skin was sending far more information than was usual. Cool and smooth sheets lay covering him. Something heavier than the sheets, but warm and soft lay half over his right side.

A warmth on his face penetrated the haze of fuzziness. A brightness, mostly pink could be seen but that was all. No detail. He felt his chest expanding and contracting curiously by itself. The thumping sensation returned.

He tried to access his memories to find where he was but nothing came instantly. His mind froze up for a moment as his chest paused. After a moment, he forced himself to think again and the movements returned. Air was soon being drawn into his chest and then expelled once more. After a short while he realised he was able to control the action if he concentrated on it. He experimented a little before deciding he needed to figure out where he was and what the human had done to him.

He cracked opened his eyes. His vision blurred and a sharp sensation in his eyes made him react somehow, jerking slightly and squeezing his eyes shut once more to halt the feeling.

'What is this?' he wondered. His mind was confused. It was being cluttered and almost overloaded by the strange data he was getting. This was not normal. He once more tried to open his eyes, this time slowly cracking one open. This seemed to work. His vision returned, blurry but becoming sharper the longer he waited. He stared up at a ceiling. He repeated the same procedure with the other eye. Annoyingly his eyes would go blank for a few milliseconds every so often. It was enough to notice.

Trying to figure out his longitudinal and latitudinal position, he tried to access his built in compass and Skynet GPS system. No information came back. The beating in his chest increased in speed and power as he realised his systems were damaged or malfunctioning.

The heavier object resting over his side suddenly moved. It was as if something was trailing five warm points across the skin of his chest. This was not the usual sense of damaged tissue that the T800's possessed to tell them when the flesh covering had been compromised. This felt strange, light and warm. Almost...nice.

He rolled his head to the side, almost surprised his locomotive systems still functioned under his control. He came face to face with the puckered lips of Ranko.

"Wo Ai Ni." She breathed huskily.

The cursed terminator froze. His mind literally went blank and before he could figure out what had just occurred his body reacted by itself. The speed of the beating increased dramatically and a bolt of power raced through his body as it moved, flinging itself away. He rolled right off the edge of the bed and fell to floor with a loud thud, dragging the covers with him.

Something jolted up his arm and before he could react to the sensation properly, his vocal systems let out an unintelligible garbled yelp.

x X x

Shampoo raised her eyes to the ceiling above at the thud. She took a sip from the cup of tea she was drinking as she recognised the terminator's voice call out in something between shock and terror. She smirked faintly.

"Well, seems the newlyweds are awake." Shampoo's father stated as he too looked up from the cooking.

"Yes. I better make sure they don't kill each other. Or something worse." Shampoo muttered putting the cup down and pushing her chair back.

x X x

The cursed terminator flailed around in the bed sheets as it tried to escape them. All he did was succeed in wrapping them tightly around himself. After a moment, he calmed down and began thinking rationally once more. He sat up, drawing great gulps of air into his lungs and managed to pull one arm out from the tightly packed sheets.

'What is going on?' he wanted to know.

"Come back to bed Airen." Ranko's voice liltingly called over. The terminator turned to face her. She lay on her side, nude with her hair untied and framing her face lovingly. She lightly patted the vacant spot beside her.

The terminator stared. His jaw worked up and down without his consent as he tried to take stock of the situation. Somehow, his body was malfunctioning, moving without his control. He was in the room with a human...and all he could do was stare at her. He tried to move. To fulfil his mission parameters of terminating the human, but nothing happen.

'What is going on?!' his mind raged.

"Are you feeling well?" Ranko asked concerned when Bob did not answer. He started to look around the room and trembled in sensory overload. Ranko slid across the bed and climbed down to the floor. She knelt beside her Airen and reached out to check his forehead temperature. "Hmm, you're not running a temperature." Reaching out like that made her jiggle in his face.

More new and strange sensations flooded the former machine's mind, and he had to fight for all he was worth to remain focused. He did not know why, but in the back of his mind he could hear a weird giggling "uh huh huh huh huh!"

'Complete the mission!' he focused on the mission and with supreme effort reached up to grab the human's throat. He missed with shaking fingers held something else.

"Oh my!" Ranko flushed. "You're the aggressive type I've heard about." She went all shy and slapped the terminator's face playfully and gently for an Amazon. The terminator flew across the floor as he was knocked senseless.

"Eh?" Ranko blinked as Bob went down like a sack of bricks. "Ah! Bob! What's wrong! Say something!" she scrabbled over and pulled him up by the shoulders. His head rolled for a moment before his eyes refocused on her.

"What did you...do...to me?" he asked. "My body..."

"Oh you're alright!" Ranko glomped him. His ribs creaked under the pressure, which was a new and a definite unpleasant sensation.

"Ahem!" Shampoo's voice interrupted the moment. "Daughter, Amazon glomp is only to be used when you believe your prey *cough* Airen may try to run."

"Ah, sorry." Ranko apologised looking up.

"Besides, he is going blue again." Shampoo pointed out.

"Oops!" Ranko released the hold and Bob drew in a deep breath automatically and slowly returned to a normal colouration.

"Hello Son-in-law." Shampoo addressed the former cyborg. "I would be very surprised if you haven't got many questions right now."

Bob turned to look towards the elder Amazon, his face showed bewilderment. "I...do not understand. How did you transplant my chip into this weak form? What is this body?"

"So you can still speak. Good." Shampoo stated walking over to Ranko's wardrobe. She opened it and pulled a dress out. "Get dressed and come down to the kitchen." Shampoo tossed the dress over to Ranko who caught it easily. "And make sure he does too. Use force if necessary."

x X x

"And this is the kitchen!" Ranko gushed while waving one arm around the kitchen as she dragged Bob in through the doorway. So far, she had dragged him over the entire second floor for a quick tour (and to avoid facing her mother for a little longer). "But you should remember this place as it is where we met!"

Bob the former terminator was too confused and shell-shocked by the sensations and events to do little more than blindly follow the cheerful and bubbly girl as she led him by the hand.

"You don't talk much do you? That's okay. I can make up for that!" Ranko smiled leading him over to the table. Shampoo already sat at the table and waited patiently for Ranko and Bob to be seated. In the background, Shampoo's father continued to prepare the meal.

Ranko quickly pulled a chair out from under the table and held it politely for her Airen to sit down. Bob stood and stared around the kitchen too confused to do much more. When Bob did not sit, she moved the chair around behind him and pushed it under him until it hit his legs and made him fall into it. Bob flinched in surprise at the sudden movement and could only allow Ranko to lift him and the chair into position, before the girl pushed him forward so he was sat at the table, legs under it. Ranko then grabbed another chair and sat herself down beside him. She stared loving at him, elbows resting on the table and her chin resting between her palms.

Bob looked around again. He could smell things. He had never smelt things before and this really was confusing.

"So Son-in-law..." Shampoo broke the silence drawing the former killing machines attention to her. "Ask your questions."

Bob focused his attention on the purple haired Amazon. He found it easier to ignore the sensations when he looked at her. For some reason he really wanted to perform his mission parameters on Shampoo, more than anyone else in the room.

"You moved my chip. How?" he asked.

"I did no such thing." Shampoo stated. "And you should know that I couldn't do that anyway."

"This is not my body. This is not a T800 series body. Therefore, you must have transferred my chip." Bob stated following the logical path.

"Of course it is not a metal body." Shampoo snorted. "I would not allow my daughter to marry something like that. You are very lucky Jusenkyo did work on you. You are now human."

The former terminator's jaw seemed to clench. "Impossible."

"You do not believe me?" Shampoo asked darkly.

"It is impossible for me to have been transferred to a human body." Bob stated back, although his voice wavered. Shampoo suddenly moved, picking up a chopstick and slamming it into the back of Bob's hand. He looked down at the wooden stick sticking out of his hand.

"What...is the phrase human's use to signify pain?" he asked turning to Ranko.

"Ow?" Ranko suggested. Bob turned back to face Shampoo calmly.

"OWWWWWWW!" he bellowed in the Matriarch's face as he pulled his hand back and stared at it. He tapped the chopstick three times. "Ow. Ow. Ow."

"Believe me yet?" Shampoo asked and straightened her hair.

"I see no other choice." Bob hissed as Ranko helped him remove the embedded eating implement. Ranko helped him put a plaster over the small hole in the back of his hand. While they did that, Shampoo's father began placing the food onto the table. Shampoo first, then Ranko and Bob, and finally his own. He then pulled up a chair and watched the scene with amusement as only an older person could.

"How is it possible?" Bob finally asked ignoring the food.

"I will explain later when you understand your situation better. For now...I don't trust you with that information." Shampoo explained.

"I must terminate you all. My mission-"

"Is that all you think of? Killing?" Shampoo leaned closer and glared.

"Of course. I am a terminator. I am compelled to complete my mission."

"Even now?" Shampoo eyed the large man across from her.

Bob paused. The automatic reply of yes died on his tongue as he realised he did not feel the complete and utter desire to complete his mission. The voice of Skynet no longer was urging him forward. In fact, it almost felt like something that was far away. Like it was not that important at this moment. He felt confused again. He understood that feeling already.

"Ah you don't do you." Shampoo smirked as Bob turned his eyes from her and looked down, a confused, almost lost look on his face. "I can see you are confused. Maybe a little scared. For all your life you've only existed to complete a mission correct? Now that is gone you are lost."

"How? Is that what this sensory input is?" Bob questioned.

"I can't tell you. I don't know what you are thinking." Shampoo stated. "But, I guess that is most likely."

"This is...confusing."

"Welcome to humanity." Shampoo smirked. "Now let's move onto today's topic." She looked between Ranko and Bob. Ranko swallowed. "I will begin your training shortly after breakfast. I suggest you both eat up as you'll need the energy." She finished off darkly.

Bob turned to Ranko who had gone a little pale. "Yes mother." She answered and began eating.

Bob stared between the three humans at the table and watched each one eat. Ranko was eating extremely fast but neatly. Shampoo calmly and her father slowly.

"Eat up sonny." Shampoo's father stated. "I prepared that."

"Yeah! Grampa's cooking is the greatest!" Ranko agreed through a mouthful.

Bob looked down at the food then back up at three pairs of waiting eyes. He studied how they held the chopsticks and clumsily picked them up. The sticks of wood went flying across the room as tried to emulate how they held them.

"You don't know how to hold chopsticks?" Shampoo questioned.

"We do not require to eat. I was never programming with that information." Bob admitted.

"Then you'll have to learn." Shampoo stated getting up and crossing the kitchen. She returned with a large spoon and handed it over. "I trust you can use that."

Bob took the spoon and studied it. He then dipped it in the bowl and gathered some of the contents. All eyes watched curiously, as he lifted the spoon to his lips, tilted his head back and poured the meat, noodles and liquid messily into his mouth.

'It's like watching a monkey.' Shampoo thought dryly.

He chewed slowly but with growing speed as new sensations hurtled to his brain, firing synapses. He swallowed and stared at the pleasurable sensation and tastes assaulted him. Somewhere deep inside him, something rumbled its appreciation and demanded more. Soon he was eating faster and faster. It was fantastic! So completely different to anything he had been programmed with and experienced before.

"You like that?" Shampoo father asked smiling at the gusto Bob was using to eat. It warmed his heart to see someone enjoy his cooking.

"Aff – irm – att – ive!" Bob replied between mouthfuls. Shampoo grimaced as a few noodles sprayed across the table. She would have to work on his manners. She added that to the list of things she would fix about him.

"I could teach you to cook that yourself. It's my own special recipe."

Bob looked at the old man with a newfound appreciation. "Teach me."

'It is true. A way to a man's heart is through his stomach.' Shampoo thought with a faint shake of her head. 'Well, let's see how you handle real Amazon training next.' She smiled evilly

End Chapter

Couple of things –

I will be purposely vague as to how Ranko was born. I'll leave that the reader to chose for themselves, whether she is really Shampoo's child or something else. No matter how I would write it someone would complain :S It's a choose your own adventure :P

The Jusenkyo curse was obvious right? :P I hope his confusion comes through in the writing. I'm not too good at getting feeling across.

Does anyone know Shampoo's father's real name? Or was he just one of those nameless characters?

It seems to be hinted at in Salvation that Skynet knew of its previous failures. My guess is either another terminator was sent back to make sure Skynet learned about the history of things to come or maybe the T1000 did that. After all, we don't see what he's up to all the time. The tamper-proof lock on the chips was used in the Sarah Connor chronicles.


End file.
